Method of and apparatus for



S. COOPER.

METHOD DF AND APPARATUS FDR APPLYING FLUID PRESSURE.

APPLICATION F|LED'ocT.19,1917. 1,312,615.

2 SHEET Patented Aug. 12, 1919.

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METHOD 0F AND APPARATUS FOR APPLYING FLUID PRESSURE. APPLICATION FILED OCT- I9, 1917.

11,312,61 5 Patented Aug. 12, 1919.

r 4 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

30j C? 50 |5 55 a4 50 ,595

IIIIIIIIIII UNITED STATES PATENT' oFFIo.

SIMON COOPER, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO THE HOIBART M. CABLE COMPANY, 0F LAPORTE, INDIANA, A CORPORATION OF INDIANA.

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR APPLYING FLUID-PRESSURE 'Specication of Letters Patent.

l' Patented Aug. 12, 119319..

.Application filed October 19, 1917. Serial No. 197,519.

throughout the area to be glued So that a.

strong and efiicient union of parts will be effeted.

My `invention is adapted for various purposes and particularly for gluing sides to the back of a piano and in the accompanying drawings l have shown the invention embodied in a press for this work, referring to which- Figure 1 is a plan view of the press, showing the piano back and sides arranged therein and partly broken away;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view on the line 24-2 of Fig. l;

Figs. 3 and 4 are similar views showing another embodiment of the invention.

The press comprises a bed of suitable construction, rectangular in shape and consisting of the upper beams 3, the lower beams 4 and a plurality of rollers 5 mounted upon upward projections 4 of the outer beams 4 and above the intermediate beams 4 and alternating with the beams 3, the said bed being mounted on a suitable base 6. The rollers are provided to facilitate arranging heavy pieces like a piano skeleton 7 4on the bed.

At or adjacent three sides of the bed 1 provide fixed abutments 8, 9 and 10 which extend lengthwise throughout or substantially throughout the pressing area and are bolted or otherwise sultably and rigidly secured to the bed. l leave the other sideof the bed free so that the work can be delivered onto the bed at this side and then readily pushed into position on the bed for pressing and afterward removed therefrom. After the work has been properly located on the bed removable pins 30 are engaged with the beams 4 of the bed and form an abutment opposite abutment 9 for the same purpose aS the abutment 8 opposite abutment 10.

To glue sides 11 to the piano back 7 I have found it sufficient to apply the pressure at two sldes of the bed, and my press is therefore constructed for the application of pressure upon the work adjacent the abutments 9 and 10, in Figs. 1 and 2. In practice it has been customary to position the piano back n the bed with its sides adjacent abutments 8 and 10, lts top adjacent abutment 9 and its bottom. adjacent the pins 30, and pressure has been applied at the top and .one side, as

shown in the drawing.

Opposite the abutment 9 I provide one or more removable followers 12 which engage the plano back 7, and opposite the abutment 1Q I provide a follower 13 which engaes the plano slde 11. Between each of the fgollowers and the adjacent abutment there is a space 1n which is located one of the expansion chambers 14, 15 which are conveniently made of rubber tubes, iat hose, or other suitable material and are adapted to provide the desired pressure by inflation. rllhese tubes extend lengthwise throughout the length of the adjacent abutments and their ends project beyond the abutments. The ends 14', 15 of the tubes are closed and their other ends are turned outward in'parallel relation at the corner of the bed and are joined through suitable valved connections with a fluid pressure supply pipe 18. I prefer to rovlde a shut-off valve 19 and an exhaust va ve 20 for each of the tubes.

The followers 12 land 13 are provided with lateral projections 21 which extend Outwardly under the abutments 9 and 10 and are engaged with springs 22 attached to the beams,-the tension of the springs being constantly exerted to ull the followers away from the work so that when pressure is exhausted from the tubes the followers will be withdrawn to release the work and permit the work to be readily removed from the bed. For gluing sides to piano backs, as well as for some other purposes, I prefer to provide thin metal strips 23 laid upon the beams adjacent the abutments 9 and 10 upon which the work may rest. By means of adjusting screws 24 operating through the bed these metal strips may be adjusted to insure proper registration of the sides 11 with the back 7.

In the practical operation of my improved press, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the -work is placed in proper position upon the table adjacent the abutment 8 and the pins 40, glue being applied to the surfaces to be joined, and then the followers are ositioned between the work and the tubes. hese followers are preferably removed from the bed to facilitate the removal of the finished work and the positioning of new work in place on the bed but they may be dispensed with entirely and the tubes permitted to directly engage the work if desired. After the work has been properly positioned with the followers in place, flui pressure is admitted to inflate the tubes, one at a time, and thereby the work is rigidly and securely clamped in place in the press. It will be observed that the pressure is applied uniformly and quickly throughout the length of the surfaces to be united and regardless of irregularities in the surfaces engaged by the tubes.

This, insures an eilicient and. permanent union of these surfaces throughout their area. While the glue is setting other work may be performed upon the piano, such as attaching other parts to the back and sides without interfering with the press and the gluing operation.

For some purposes it may be desirable toprovide the press with `oppositely disposedl expansion chambers so that the work will, in effect, iioat between inflatable members applying pressure from opposite sides. In Figs. 3 and 4 I have illustrated this embodiment of the invention in a press similar to that previously described. Two additional tubes are provided, making four in all, one 'at each side of the press. The tube 31 is located between abutment 8 and a follower 32 and the tube 33 may be located between a follower 34 and a removable abutment 35 arranged adjacent the pins 30, or a rigid abutment may be substituted for the pms, as may be found desirable, and the tube 33 located between the follower 34 and such rigid abutment. In other respects the construction is similar to that already described. With a press of this construction one pair of oppositely disposed tubes will first be iniated, and then the other pair; or one tube may be inated to a ply an initial pressure and the opposite tu e subsequently inated to a higher pressure.

To draw oil the water of condensation I ma provide each tube with a pet cock 36. n important feature of my invention which distinguishes it from screw clamps and the like is the fact that the pressure is applied to the surfaces, regular or irregular, uniformly throughout. This not only takes care of variations in thickness of parts, and wear and tear on the press but also of work of irregular shapes. I have found that flat hose arranged on edge is well adapted for making the expansion chambers, being con. paratively inexpensive, easy to obtain and ,eicient in service.

My invention is simple in construction, efficient in operation, and inexpensive to build and operate; it can be embodied in various forms for doing different kinds of work without departing from the spirit or sacriicing the advantages of the invention and I reserve the right, therefore, to make all such changes in the form, construction and arrangement of parts' as fairly fall within the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a press, the combination of a bed adapted to receive the work, an 'abutment projecting above the bed, an expansion chamber comprising a flat hose located between the work and abutment and extending lengthwise of the abutment, and means for admitting Huid pressure to said hose.

2. In a press, the combination of a bed ada ted to receive the` work, abutments projecting above the bed at opposite sides thereof, an expansion chamber located between the'work and each abutment and comprising a flat hose section extending lengthwise throughout the length of the abutment, and means for admitting pressure to and exhausting pressure from said chambers.

3. In a press, the combination of a rectangular bed adapted to receive the work, abutments projectin above the bed at the sides thereof, a flat hose section located adjacent each abutment and extending throughout the length thereof, and independent means for admitting pressure to and exhausting pressure from each section.

4c. In a press, the combination of a bed adapted to receivel the work, an abutment projecting above the bed at the side thereof, a flat hose section located adjacent said abutment, means at one end of said hose section to admit pressure to the section, and means at the same end to exhaust pressure from the section.

5. In a press, the combination of a bed adapted to receive the work, abutments projecting perpendicularly above the bed at adjacent sides thereof, expansion chambers located between the work and said abutments, each of said chambers comprising a fiat hose section extending throughout the length of the abutment and said hose sections being closed at their outer ends and bent outwardly from the bed in parallel relation at their'adjacent ends, and means for admitting fluid pressure to said adjacent ends ofthe hose4 sections.

6. In' a press, the combination of a bed adapted to receive the work, abutments projecting above the bed at the'sides thereof, an expansion chamber located between the work and each of said abutments, each of said expansion chambers comprising a flat hose section extending throughout the length of the abutment, the adjacent ends of the hose sections at oppositely disposed corners of said bed being closed and the adjacent ends of said hose sections at each of the other oppositely disposed corners of the bed being bent outwardly from the bed in parallel relation, and means for admitting fluid pressure to said bent ends of the hose.

7. A press comprising an abutment, means Ifor malntaining work in coperative relation to the abutment, a flexible tube insertible between the work and the abutment, and means for inlating the tube while in position betwen the abutmentand the work.

8. A press comprising a bed for the support of work, an abutment thereon, means for maintainin work in coperative relation with the -a utment, -va flexible tube insertible between the work and the abutment and in coperat'ive 4relation therewith, and means for inlating the tube.

9. The herein described method, which consists in placing the work in coperative relation t@ an abutment, introducing a flexible tube between the work and the abutment, and inflating the tube.

10. The herein described method, which consists in placing the work in Coperative relation to an abutment, introducin a flexible tube between the work and a utment anl in collapsed condition, and inliating the tu e.

11. The herein described method of appl ing pressure, which consists 1n placing tlie work with a portion of its periphery in cooperative relation with an abutment, placing a flexible tube between the abutment and thie) periphery of the work, and inflating the tu e.

12. The method of applying adaptable pressure as desired, which consists in pro- Vidin abutments between which the work is placed, providin one or more flexible tubes, introducing a tu e between any one or more of the abutments and the work, and inflating such tube.

13. The herein described method of applying fluid pressure which consists in arranging the work between abutments and then applying the pressure through the medium of an inflatable flexible member disposed between -the work and an abutment and extending lengthwise throughout the length of the abutment.

14. The herein described method of applying fluid pressure which consists in arranging the work between oppositely disposed abutments and then applying the pressure through the medium of inflatable hose sections disposed between the work and the abutments andv extending lengthwise throughout the length of the abutments.

'SIMON COOPER.

Witnesses:

A. M. LINDENSTRUTH, LOUIS MORINSKY. 

